Feasting With Family

"You've been listening to the adagio from Beethoven's 7th Symphony. I think Ludwig pretty much summed up death in this one. You know, he had lost just about all his hearing when he wrote it, and I've often wondered if that didn't help him tune into the final silence of the great beyond."
- Andrew Schneider

We just had one of those great weekends. First Neil returned from a trip from China. Thank the heavens! The calendar says he was gone for ten days. My nerves say he was gone for 189 days. It seemed really long this time. We were so happy to have him home. Then the newlyweds stayed for the weekend. Jessica had to close on Friday night, so they showed up in the dark of night. I had set up a comfortable bed for them in the upstairs family room. The sofa sleeper was set up with a queen sized air mattress on top complete with some sheets and a quilt. It's not the Hilton, but it will have to do for now. Someday I will have a lovely spare bedroom for our married kids with a real bed and truffles on the pillows and light reading sitting on the matching bed stands. But our nest is not empty enough for such accommodations right now.

I can't tell you how much a mom yearns to have her whole family together under one roof again. To have my husband in China and my adult kids in Logan just leaves me feeling unsettled. To have them all sleeping soundly in my little abode allowed me to sleep soundly and gave me something joyous to wake up to. 

Spencer was supposed to get his patriarchal blessing Saturday morning, but apparently the patriarch had scheduled him for next Saturday. Grrr. Best laid plans. So we went and got Kneaders french toast for breakfast. I'm going for a record of longest time without going to the grocery store. And also largest amount of saving's money spent on eating out. Sometimes I'm just the worst mom ever. What kind of example am I setting for my married daughter? I should have been up at 8:00 sizzling bacon, flipping pancakes, and shredding hash browns. Instead I was laughing around Kneaders' breakfast table with the kids, commenting on how Kneaders is  getting a little stingy with their whipped cream as of late. Oh well. It is what it is.

After breakfast, Neil and I and Jess and Taylor went and did a session at the Bountiful temple. It was so so fun to go to the temple with my married daughter. I had brought some family names to do proxy work for, so it was quite literally the best way I could have spent my afternoon.

We finished off the great weekend in Salt Lake. We bought tickets for Beethoven's 7th clear back in February. We had bought a ticket for Taylor. This was before he and Jess were even discussing marriage, but I think we all knew that he was going to be a part of our family. He had an appreciation for Beethoven's 7th for heaven's sake, of course he had to join our family! We enjoyed dinner at Gourmandise first. As Spencer put it drolly that morning, over french toast, "I haven't had a Gourmandise sandwich in years." My word! How did I raise such snobs? Our snobbery far exceeds our income. Anyway, we all got our gourmet sandwiches and Taylor schooled us on the proper way to pronounce the french pastries we were prepared to order. It was a lovely meal. Then we separated into two groups to do some shopping before meeting up at Abravanel Hall. 

As we sat in the hall waiting for the concert to begin, an older gentleman approached Sabrina and said, "I haven't seen a hat like that for 40 years." Sabrina and I said in unison, "It's vintage." He may have seen that exact hat 40 years ago. 

Apparently Jess thought the concert started at 8:00 so she, Taylor, and Spencer were stuck at H & M when Beethoven's 2nd started. Sad but not tragic. They hung out in the beautiful lobby drinking hot chocolate and joined us during intermission in time for the seventh, which was the real reason we were all there. 

It was beautiful. Beautiful. The genius that is Beethoven is such a treat to experience live, especially when Thierry Fischer is conducting. They say that this may have been the last symphony that Beethoven was actually able to hear. Which makes the 2nd movement that much more haunting. And it was haunting and achingly beautiful. There were moments that I just sat with my eyes closed and breathed in the music. I forget how much I love every movement of this symphony. If the second movement is haunting, the last movement is triumphant, and I love it almost as much as the second. When the final note was played, the room exploded, everyone stood to applaud, the "Bravos" echoed through the hall. We beckoned the conductor back onto the stage four times. Sabrina and I commented that we hope that Beethoven is allowed to hear his masterpiece now and again from the other side, this time with perfected spiritual ears. God is merciful. I think He must allow it from time to time. I had hoped He had allowed Beethoven to hear his music that night and to listen to our applause afterward, for we are still appreciating his work 200 years later. 

We made our way to the lobby and chattered on about how amazing the concert was and how we need to do this more often. Then we stopped for a traditional photo then made our way home. It was a day of physical, spiritual, and musical feasting with family. Those are the best days!